Public outrage erupted over the trial of these minors, many of whom appeared malnourished and had been jailed for over 90 days. On Friday, four of the minors reportedly collapsed in court.
Outraged by viral videos showing the malnourished minors, held in detention for three months, collapsing in court, Nigerians criticised Mr Tinubu on social media, calling him a brutal dictator on par with terrorists who abduct children.
In a post on X, @FNwapa said, “A Brutal Dictator like @officialABAT through his shameless NSA @NuhuRibadu detained children for 90 days for simply participating in #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest. These children have been denied food, healthcare causing them to faint in court today.”
Activist Aisha Yesufu also criticised Mr Tinubu, comparing his government to terrorists and calling it “illegal.”
“Tinubu’s illegitimate government is now competing with terrorists to abduct children. And starve them on top of that,” Mrs Yesufu said.
Another X user, @Shehu_mahdi, commented, “The children aged between 15 and 19 were today arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja, accused of participating in a protest against Tinubu’s destructive management style and charged with treason and attempting to overthrow the government.
“It is a shame that underage children of the poor are being treated like animals after destroying the means of livelihood of their parents,” he added.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International also condemned the treason trial of minors protesting against hunger under Mr Tinubu’s administration.
“The 114 protesters arraigned today at the Federal High Court, Abuja, have done nothing unlawful and do not deserve the horrifying treatment they have endured since their arrest.
“Among the 76 protesters arraigned in the first group today, the majority are minors, and the collapse of four in the courtroom underscores the poor state of their mental and physical health. Subjecting minors to such horrifying detention for demanding good governance reveals the government’s clear determination to crush dissent,” Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday.
The detention and trial of #EndBadGovernance minor protesters are seen as another episode of alleged government abuse of power under Mr Tinubu.
Earlier in February, two Binance officials, Tirgran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained following an official invitation from National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who alleged that Binance was facilitating currency speculation that undermined the naira.
While Mr Anjarwalla managed to evade detention and left Nigeria in March, Mr Gambaryan remained in custody for eight months until he was released last week.
